31 August 2015

At one point last year, I did not
think this album would be made; a lot of people (like myself) were not writing
Motörhead off - only a fool would do that, no what had made that thought appear
in our mind was that time had finally caught up with Lemmy and his health
started to fail him. It was looking as if the years of drink, drugs and
woman were gonna come asking for the tab to be paid - but Lemmy just changed
his poison to Vodka, gave death a look and two fingers and has continued
rocking on. Indeed, he has just took the touring down slightly and he has
created a new record here with Phill (Wizzö) Campbell on guitars and Mikkey Dee
on drums (who represent the most stable line-up in Motörhead history - being together
since Mikkey Dee joined in 1992 (although Wurzel did leave in 1995 to be
honest)). Motörhead have been more busy this time, they have played
Glastonbury, they are about to embark on one of those cruise metal tours which
are being more popular, their world tour is going to go into 2016 according to
their website and they have released this which is their twenty second studio
album. Whilst Lemmy's health has made the press again (altitude sickness
in Denver this time), we are not here to cast a worried eye over the health of
the man, we are here to listen (or in the readers case - read) about this album
and see how this fairs against the rest of their back catalogue."Victory or Die" sounds
defiant - if death is really approaching Lemmy at this point, then Sir
Kilmister is not going to come easy. It is an explosion from the
beginning, there is no sign of slowly down and there is also no hint at
stopping any time soon. The song ponders what it is all about, there is
lots of references to war, death, UFOs and not knowing what is going on;
generally the whole human condition condensed into three minutes of hard, fast
rock 'n' roll. It is the best opening to a Motörhead album I have heard
since "On Your Feet Or On Your Knees" from 'Bastards' - and that song
is my favourite track from Motörhead, so that is meant as a huge
compliment. "Thunder & Lightning" follows next and the
speed is the key here; it is a song about being in a band and the thrill of
being on stage. It is an honest portrait - as well as the positives,
Lemmy lets us know that there are nightmares to overcome as well as dreams to
follow, Phill Campbell drops another stunning solo on this song and Mikkey Dee
brings the thunder to the track that would have weaker mortals running for
cover. There is no reinventing the wheel here, you would be horrified if
they had changed their style, but it is a great Motörhead song once
again. "Fire Storm Hotel" is a very traditional song for
Motörhead; it is a rock 'n' roll song just played louder than everything
else. It is Motörhead in a nutshell, slow and steady rock played like the
sound of the Gods having a piss up. Even if Motörhead is not your
particular cup of pish (this is spelt correctly +Luke), you cannot deny for what they
do, they are the best at creating an almighty racket. With a drum solo
introduction, "Shoot out All of Your Lights" bring the speed back to
the song. It sounds like the band are playing whilst a bar room fight is
going on around them; if this is Lemmy and co starting to wind down, I think
they did not get the memo. If anything, the opening section of this album
is showing that they are more aggressive than before. They are not taking
any prisoners in this song, but death features quite heavily again on this song
- obviously you can read a lot into this, but let's leave that for the end of
the album. Track five is called "The Devil" and you are the
devil, it is an interest concept for the lyrics, the song itself is another
standard stomping number from Motörhead which they can churn out by the
1,000,000; sadly that means it does lose something as you can hear so many of
their other songs, you know if it was in the set that some people would not be
able to tell it apart from some of their other works."Electricity" sparks
into life and you are thrown headlong into another high octane rock 'n' roll
song that bounces along with an energy and pace that would put a hell of a lot
of younger bands to shame. Is it new? No, I have heard this type of song
from them before. Is it boring? Fuck no, it sounds like they are
just getting warmed up and ready for the next round. For what it is, you
cannot do any better than this for a classic piece of rock 'n' roll; it is
another great song on this album which is followed by "Evil
Eye". I will be honest, it is another filler track from Motörhead at
this point; you can pick any album track on some of their other albums and it
would interchange with this number. But it still sounds decent and whilst
it is by no means original, it is still good for what it is - that high volume
rock 'n' roll that just happens to be metal as well. "Teach Them How
To Bleed" does not deviate from the path that this album has been on, they
have not really took their foot off the peddle so far on this album and this
song bounces past at a fair pace and you are not given a chance to catch your
breathe. It is another song that showcases all the strengths of band;
giving the devil a run for his money and making everything louder than
everything else - another song which I know I have heard in another format, but
I really do not give a damn at the point when it sounds this good. Then
comes "Till the End" which is a slow burner, it is a tale which is
looking over the past and there is no regret, no wishing for a change or trying
to make amends for what has past. It reminds me of a song that Lemmy had
wrote for Ozzy Osbourne called "See You on the Other Side" from the
'Ozzmosis' album. The warning that Lemmy is not ready to take life advice
is pretty strong here - he is who he is, do not try to make him change or you
will not be talking much longer. I love this song, whilst "Victory
or Die" is the storming opener, this is the heart of the album and is now
my new favourite Motörhead song."Tell Me Who to kill"
brings the rock 'n' roll back to the album, another high octane rock 'n' roll
number that actually comes across like a punk number in places. To be
honest, would you really expect anything different from Motörhead at this
point? It is doing what they do best and that is all you want from the
band; I know it is not going to win originality awards, but it still sounds
good and that is all that matters. Emerging from a cloud of feedback and
radio static, "Chocking on Your Screams" which is a tale of the Earth
being attack from the point of view of the alien overlords. It sounds
like an old horror movie brought to life in a metal song, it is not a song that
does not really work for me; it reminds me of 'The Wait' by Killing Joke, but
not quite as charming as that number. You cannot expect every song to be
a gem, sadly this is the case here. The penultimate track is called
"When The Sky Comes Looking For You" and this is more like it; it
sounds like the band are trying to take the party with them as they head
towards the sun with this album. It is reflective without resorting to
cliché, it sounds like there is more fight left in them and this is not the end
of the game. The album does end with a cover of the Rolling Stone's
classic "Sympathy for the Devil", it is one of the best versions of
this song I have heard and it does not sound like a tired old tribute. It
sounds as if Lemmy is challenging the devil for his job and might just have the
balls to actually pull it off which end the album on a high note.

I hate it when people say that x band's latest release is a
return to form, it does the musician's a disservice in my opinion. Whilst
not every Motörhead release has been a stone cold classic, they have always
been consistent. This is once again a very good album from Messrs
Campbell, Dee and Kilmister which shows that whilst they may not be in the
summer of their years, that you would be a fool to write them off. It is
really easy to look at this record and see it as a fuck you to death from
Lemmy, it is never too far from the surface of the album and after the
experience (and ongoing healthy worries of the man) it is something that will affect
him. But it only seems to have made him more determined to keep on going
with his music and not slow down his passion; he might have had to make changes
elsewhere in his life, but there is no compromise with the music. It is
much like the AC/DC album from last year - 'Rock
or Bust' (cleverly linked here) - you know what you are going to get
and you do not want the formula fucked with too much. It does the right
stuff at the right time, it will keep their fans happy and it might even get
some more fans along the way - job well done and a fuck you to death.

30 August 2015

Ok Pip, we know everyone should be
listening to it.... sheesh. This is an album which is currently being hyped by
the rather talented Scroobius Pip (formerly of Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip) has
basically been singing the praises of this man - B. Dolan - for many a
moon, he has took him out on tour, but him as the headline act on last year's
Speech Development tour, he has played with Sage Francis, his tour history is
really impressive. He has been making the rounds for years, he found his
own style and has stayed true to what he sees as his own vision; I admire that,
he is an artist that does it his way and not going down the route of trying to
get to a major label. At present he is getting ready for a world tour for
this third studio album, which looks like it is going to be killer. A few
weeks ago I put a photo up on my Instagram of the blogs I was going to do and
hash tagged the groups and artists that I was going to be review, B. Dolan
liked this post and that made me smile; I should have done this a little
sooner, but I am doing it now - time to see how the howl the wolf sounds.....

With the sound of a slow guitar,
haunting pianos and a cello (I think), we are introduced to
"Lazarus". It might start off slow, but there is an explosive
energy which is unleashed as the song moves along and the tale about the
inevitable and how you also rise from small defeats (as well as the defeat that
no-one ever rises from). This song sounds huge, it has a massive hook in
it, it will not let the listener stay still and has a sound like reminds me of
the aggression and positive sounds from The Prodigy - 'Music For The Jilted
Generation' era; it sounds larger than life and for an opening track , that is
a perfect way to start an album. With a dirty bass and equally nasty
guitar sound, "Graffiti Busters" is about street arts who are treat
like criminals; I have never got that as I find a lot of street art to be
beautiful (when it is not just Shazza luvs Kylie 4eva & then the name is
changed a few times), it can truly be inspiring and it is a very expressive
piece of art. The sonnet to the life of a street artist is another
fantastic piece that is very hard on the bass, very sharp on the rhymes and to
be honest it is a stunning song - could this be the song of the album so early
on? With messed up percussions, "Stay Inspired" is very old
school and sounds as timeless as anything from Public Enemy and Ice Cube; it is
a mean and fantastic rap which is about being inspired and it nails the state
of rap and how to take a bad situation and make it a positive. It is
another stomping number that has the body moving and also takes the brain from
a trip with insightful and killer words.

The fourth track is called
"Safety Theater" (that is the spelling on the CD box, that is what I
am sticking with - it has a different name on Spotify for some reason) and this
takes things down a notch in term of speed, but not in terms of quality.
It is still a hard hitting, precision number with a wonderful sense of danger
and aggression; the music is a mixture of heavy drums, slow female vocals,
pulsing bass and a great mixture of electronics and frequencies mixed into an
edgy, perceptive number. After this is "Jailbreak" which
features the talents of Dave Lamb, Buck 65 & Aesop Rock, with a sound that
feels like a live band giving the backing track instead of the song being
performed on a drum machine/sound effects board (both are great and if this is
a drum machine/sound effect board combo - it is the best I have heard).
With a guitar lick that holds the track together, it sounds incredibly grounded
and one of the best tracks of the album. The raps are beautiful and the
sound is storming, a stunning number on this album. With a dark, deep bass
"Run The Machine" goes for the jugular and reminds me of early Saul
Williams in terms of style, delivery and noise; but it is done with his own
flavour that keep the listener attention and the dark rhyme aggression is
fantastic. A tale about the way of the world, this sixth track is another
great example of how rap is still evolving and is not just the mainstream
player's that are the people to follow. "Rats Get Fat" starts
with a sample of a kid asking for a story, it is a tale about the state of a
city and how the wealthy flourish and the rest are treat like scum and
worthless. It is a brilliant commentary on hypocrisy and the world at
large; full of dark imagery and brilliant music, it just showcases the
strengths of B. Dolan.

"Who Killed Russell
Jones" is a tribute to Ol' Dirty Bastard, it is both praising and damning
rebuttal of the man as well. It does not hide his demons, shows his
diseases of the man and his drug past, it is also shows him in glory and that
even though he was floored that he was a great artist. It is a haunting
moment on the album, one of the darkest songs and sounds as if it was recorded
in front of a live crowd. Whatever my thoughts on the ODB, it is a
heartfelt tribute to a man who is obviously a hero to B. Dolan. The ninth
track is called "Alright", it is the first song on the record that
(while sounding decent), it doesn't hit the highs of the earlier parts of the
album. I think it is the first tune that does not match the quality of
the rap, I guess it had to happen at some point and it does show how much
quality is on the album that it takes to this far into the album. The
penultimate song is called "Memory of Bombs", it begins with low
synths, minimal drums and then a slow, dark diatribe about the state of the
world and how it is going to hell in a hand basket and the female vocals are
begging for salvation. It is a moody and dark piece of music that keeps
up the quality of the album and does not disappoint at all, in fact whilst it
takes a while to get going - it is actually one of the most rewarding songs on
the album as it keeps on revealing more about itself with each listen; aka the
grower track. Ending the album is "These Rooms" which ends the
album on a minimal note, the live band vibe is back again, B. Dolan is showing
you to the door as he ends his show; it is a retrospective on old shows, the
way home and the changeable nature of the music business. Once more, it
takes a while to get into the song and much like "Memory of Bombs" it
is another grower and feels like the road for B. Dolan has been hard on the
man. It is a haunting song, one which ends with sense that the road is
not reached its end - however the album has reached its conclusion.

I am glad to report that this
album is a top draw release from Speech Development, B. Dolan lays out his
tracks with a style and level of confidence that is worthy of the hype.
It has an old school style for me in the way the B. Dolan delivers his raps
(reminds me an awful lot of Saul Williams and I think that man is amazing), the
music is really good and is full of strange beats, crazy rhymes and more hooks
than a school cloakroom in the 70's. This album is one of the best rap
albums I have heard in years and I can see why Scroobius Pip is trying to get
everyone to listen to the album; it is a class release - so long story short -
this is a great album and worth the hype.

8 out of ten - Oh, now you have my
attention and maybe my money, time and heart

Welcome to the final round-up review of 2017! Similar to the Round-Up posts I put up earlier in the year, I’m going to be posting some bull...

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Album scoring system

0 - This is proof there is no deity1 - You're really are touching the bottom of the barrel with this one2 - If only there was some quality control3 - It could have been a bit better4 - Well it's alright, but still......5 -Not for everyone but played well6 - Now I see where you were going, but it's not quite there7 - This is good and well worth a check8 - Oh, now you have my attention and maybe my money, time and heart9 - Almost perfect....Almost10 - This is proof there is a deity(For albums that are too crazy to be marked)Crazy Cat symbol - This album cannot be marked, so here is a box of kittens

Singles/EP Marking System

0 - Only to be listened to by people bless with the gift of being deaf1 - Not so much on the bad that it is bottom of the barrel, but it can see the stuff down there2 - Not bad, not good - so average it is Zen3 - Decent, getting there4 - This is really good, well worth checking out5 - I wish I had extra ears to love this more(For Singles/EPs that are too crazy to mark)Crazy Cat symbol - This release cannot be marked, so here is a box of kittens